Chick box



April 5, 1955 R. c. HUCKSTEP CHICK BOX Filed Nov. 20, 1952 Q/.. o 3 0 0 1 O O o F O If 37 I p m 5 R 5 m m W a V0 r m m 6 M 0 RI Y B Tl VI m 8 ll\1 I J 8 Z "m w .3 3 ,4

United States Patent CHICK BOX Robin C. Huckstep, Birmingham, Ala., assignor to Birmingham Paper Company, a corporation of Alabama Application November 20, 1952, Serial No. 321,685

7 Claims. (Cl. 229-32) This invention relates to a chick box such as is employed for handling and shipping baby chicks and has for its principal object the provision of such a box made from a unitary fiber board blank which shall include integral leg members, thus providing for ready assembly and also permitting a plurality of such boxes to be stacked one on another and yet afford ample ventilation between the boxes.

A further object of my invention is to provide a chick box of the character designated which is easily formed from a rectangular fiber board blank and one in which a minimum amount of material is required to construct the same.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a chick box of the character designated which shall be sturdy of construction, economical to manufacture and one which readily lends itself to mass production.

A device employing features of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a view showing the blank from which the box is made;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the assembled box, partly broken away;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the manner in which the blank is folded to form the box;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the partition walls for the box;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view of a modified form of blank; and,

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the manner in which the blank shown in Fig. 7 is folded to form a box.

Referring now to the drawing for a better understanding of my invention, the box is indicated generally at 10 and its cover at 11. The blank, as shown in Fig. 3, is preferably formed from a rectangular sheet of fiber board having side edges 12 and end edges 13. The blank is scored along lines 14 and 16 which extend the length of the blank and lie substantially parallel to, and positioned inwardly of, the edges 12 of the box a distance equal to the depth of the box. The blank is slit near each corner along four lines 17 which intersect the scored lines 14 and 16 perpendicular thereto and are spaced from, and lie substantially parallel to, the edges 13, as shown in Fig. 3.

Short slits 18 are provided in each of the scored lines 14 and 16, which extend inwardly from the points of intersection with each of the slits 17. Extending from the inner ends of each of the short slits 18 to points adjacent the inner ends of the lines 17 are scored lines 19. The lines 19 together with the slits 18 and the inner portion of the slits 17 form triangular flaps 21.

At the inner ends of each of the slits 17, there is a slit 22 which extends toward the adjacent end edges 13 perpendicular to the slit 17 and substantially parallel to the edges 12. Connecting the outer ends of the slits 22 at opposite ends of the blank are scored lines 23 and 24. It will thus be seen that the scored lines 14, 16, 23, and 24 divide the blank into a bottom panel 26, side panels 27 and 28 and end panels 29 and 31. The slits 17 and 22 intersect at points on the blank inwardly of the adjacent ends of the lines 23 and 24 so that, when the end panels 29 and 31 are folded upwardly to form the ends of the box the portions of the blank defined by the p ICC slits 17 and 22 extend downwardly below the box to form legs as more particularly described hereafter.

Each corner portion of the blank is scored along lines 33 intermediate the ends of the scored lines 14 and 16 and the adjacent edges 12, each of which extends from the adjacent slit 17 part way to the adjacent edge 13 and perpendicular to the slit 17. The remainder of the distance to the edge 13 of each corner portion is slit along a line 34 for a purpose to be set forth hereinafter. Each of the corner portions of the blank defined by the slits 17 and scored lines 14 and 16 is folded inwardly along the scored lines 33 and the ends of the scored lines 14 and 16 to form triangular shaped legs 36 for the box. The lower portions of the legs 36 project below the surface of the bottom 26 when the ends 29 and 31 of the box are folded upwardly, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

When the ends 29 and 31 of the box are folded up wardly along the scored lines 23 and 24, the slits 22 and the inner ends of slits 17 provide ample clearance for the leg portions of the blank to move downwardly below the bottom 26 to form the legs. As the legs 36 are moved below the bottom of the box, the triangular flaps 21 are engaged and pressed downward to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 5. The flaps 21 in this position frictionally engage the sides of the legs 36 thereby bracing the same and forming a very rigid construction. After the sides of the box 27 and 28 are folded up along the scored lines 14 and 16, they are joined to the upper portions of the triangular shaped legs 36 by any suitable means, such as by staples 37. The slits 34 permit the upper portion of the inner sides of the triangular shaped legs to be bent inwardly of the box to permit the insertion of a stapling head.

The box is provided on the sides, ends and top, with the usual air holes 35 for supplying air to the chicks. Also, partition walls 38 and 39 may be provided in the chick box to prevent the chicks from all shifting to one side. The partition walls 38 and 39 are joined together adjacent the center thereof, as shown in Fig. 6, by providing a slit 41 adjacent the upper center portion of the wall 38 and a slit 42 adjacent the lower center portion of the wall 39. The upper center portion of the wall 39 thus fits in the slit 41 and the lower center portion of the wall 38 fits in the slit 42, thus locking the partition walls together. The ends of the walls 38 and 39 are bent laterally to form flanges 43 which are in turn, secured to the inner walls of the chick box by any suitable means such as staples 44. The upper central portions of the partition walls 38 and 39 project above the walls of the chick box to provide upstanding portions 46 and 47 respectively.

The cover 11 of the box is provided with slits 48 and 49 at the center thereof through which the portions 46 and 47 extend to engage the bottom central portion of a superimposed box thus supporting the same and providing ample ventilation between the boxes. The legs 36 serve to space each chick box from a subjacent box thus permitting circulation of air therebetween. By providing the legs 36 at each corner of the chick box a plurality of such boxes may be stacked one onthe other. The upwardly projecting members 46 and 47 form a central support for a superimposed box and provide means whereby boxes which do not have such legs may be supported in spaced relation to my improved box. Where all of the boxes are provided with legs 36 the upstanding members 46 and 47 may be omitted, thus causing the boxes to be separated from each other by means of the legs only.

Referring now to Figs. 7 and 8 I show a slightly modified form of box construction in which the blank is provided with the scored lines 14, 16, 23, 24, 19, 33 and 34 as hereinbefore described. The blank is slit along lines 1701 which extend from the edges 12 thereof to the points of intersection with the scored lines 19. Short diagonal slits 51 are provided in the blank which extend from the points of junction of scored lines 19 and slits 17a to point outwardly thereof and in the same vertical planes as the scored lines 19. Also, short slits 22a connect the outer ends of the slits 51 to the adjacent ends of the scored lines 23 and 24. The flap portions defined by the slits 17a and the ends of the scored lines 14 and 16 are cut away as at 52 to permit the lower end of the leg 36a to pass below the bottom of the chick box when the ends thereof are folded upwardly. By providing the diagonal slits 51 and the cut-away portions 52, the legs 36a fit snugly in the openings left by the flaps 21 and there are no openings left in the corners of the box in which the feet of the chicks might become lodged.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided an improved chick box which is easily constructed from a single rectangular sheet of material and in which there is no waste of material. By forming the legs as an integral part of the box and causing the triangular flaps at each corner of the box to bear against the legs, a very sturdy box is provided. Also, by providing the slits 22 at the inner terminals of the slits 17, the legs 36 and 36a are easily pressed downwardly below the bottom of the box and there is a minimum of open space between the legs and the bottom of the box.

While I have shown my invention in but two forms it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A box blank comprising a rectangular sheet of material having a pair of scored lines along opposite sides extending fromend to end thereof to define the sides of the box and having slits extending inwardly from the opposite sides and inwardly of the ends to points inwardly of and at right angles to said scored lines and terminat ing in outwardly extending short end portions parallel to said scored lines, said scored lines and said slits defining flaps at each corner of the blank, said flaps being scored near the middle perpendicular to said slits to fold inwardly and upwardly and form triangular shaped legs as viewed in cross section for the box, said blank having another pair of scored lines joining the inner ends of said slits whereby the ends of the blank may be folded upwardly to form the ends of the box.

2. A box blank as defined in claim 1 in which the first mentioned pair of scored lines are provided with short slits which extend inwardly from the first mentioned slits defining small flap portions at each corner of the box which are adapted to be pressed downwardly by the legs as the ends of the blank are folded upwardly.

3. A box blank as defined in claim 1 in which the scored portions of the flaps perpendicular to the slits extend from the slits part way across the flaps and the remainder of the distance to the adjacent end of the blank is slit.

4. A box blank comprising a rectangular sheet of material having a pair of scored lines along opposite sides extending from end to end thereof to define the sides of the box, and having slits extending inwardly from the opposite sides and inwardly of the ends to points inwardly of and perpendicular to said scored lines, there being short inwardly extending slits along said scored lines from the points of junction of said scored lines with said first mentioned slits, there being short outwardly extending slits at the inner ends of said first mentioned slits, said first mentioned scored lines and said first mentioned slits defining flaps at each corner of the blank, said flaps being scored near the middle perpendicular to said first mentioned slits to fold inwardly and upwardly and form triangular shapedlegs as viewed in cross section for the box, said blank having anotherpair of scored lines joining the outer ends of said short outwardly extending slits whereby the ends of the blank may be folded upwardly to form the ends of the box.

5. A box blank as defined in claim 4 in which the short outwardly extending slits extend in a direction substantially parallel to the sides of the blank.

6. A box blank as defined in claim 4 in which the sheet of material is scored along lines which extend from the inner ends of the short inwardly extending slits to a point adjacent the inner ends of said first mentioned slits.

7. A box blank as defined in claim 4 in which the short outwardly extending slits extend diagonally toward the central portion of the ends then outwardly in a direction substantially parallel to the sides of the blank and in which the flaps are provided with cut-out portions at the outer edges thereof adjacent the first mentioned slits.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 204,022 Gibson May 21, 1878 622,921 Fuller Apr. 11, 1899 1,653,116 Parks Dec. 20, 1927 1,960,391 Newhouse May 29, 1934 

